Category: Blog

Enter Polish powerhouse Kuba Cichocki, better known as Silence Groove. After a string of impressive releases on the likes of Integral, Fokuz and Liquicity, as well as a highly rated remix of Pola & Bryson’s album opener ‘Call Of The Night’, we thought it was only right to hunt him down for his first solo Soulvent single.

Origins hits the ground running with remnants of classic old school breaks and chunky synth and vocal stabs, teasing the ears with nostalgic 90s arcade game feels. As it drops, big sub-bass balances bursts of counter-melodic horns and licks, creating a serious head-nodder of a number.

In contrast, Recondite is a slower build of tension. Crisp drums and drawn out keys lurch us into an uncertain intro, reminiscent of the soundtrack work of Vangelis for Bladerunner. Descending strings and pricks of percussion punctuate the pads, vocals and space – dropping us right into a rumbling roller: a perfect gritty track for a dimly-lit dance floor.

7 years deep in the game, it’s our pleasure to bring you music from yet another member of our ever expanding European family; Silence Groove’s debut release drops on the 27th of July and is surely one to set your clocks by.

With our Summer Soul EP dropping in just under 2 weeks time, we thought we’d arrange a small interview with each artist featured on the release. We’ve got music coming from as far afield as France, Japan, Russia and New Zealand, so we wanted to quiz each producer on what got them into making dance music. If you’re keen to get to know a little bit more about each artist involved in the project, then read below!

1. Who are you, where are you from and what got you into producing Drum & Bass?

Monika
My name is Maxwell Monika, residing in Christchurch NZ. I got my head blown off at a Hospitatlity event back in 2009, and I’ve had the itch ever since.

Lurch
My name’s Jamie aka Lurch – I’m originally from Surrey now living in Bristol. I got into Drum & Bass as a teenager amongst other music but only rediscovered it many years later and decided to start producing.

Primitive Instinct
My name is Jamie Tucker, I am 21 years old from Devon, UK. I am currently living in Bristol, studying a degree in electronic music production. I quickly became interested in producing after falling in love with dance music and the impact it can have on the dance floor.

Strife ii
I’m Rob Walker, 29 years old from South Birmingham, and I work in a microbrewery. I grew up listening to happy hardcore and 97-2000 trance in school circa 2005, mostly the Slammin Vinyl and MoS compilations. I was pretty big on hardcore at the time but when trancecore really took over it was fun and amazing for a bit but got pretty repetitive, producers left breakbeats behind and it came to an end for me so I discovered liquid DnB and started writing that instead. I play the piano and guitar so dialling that in to liquid was pretty natural, and I can take a lot of influence from pianists and post rock bands which sounds great with a scratchy breakbeat and big warm subby Reese bass.

Soul Dimension
I’m a young 20 year old French producer and I love to produce Drum & Bass, the style of the genre is so perfect and powerful!

Dushi
I’m Dushi and I grew up in Brixton, London. I’ve been making music since I was a child and being around drum and bass from when I started going out, I really wanted to get into making it.

Luna
My name is Louis, and I go by the name Luna as a drum and bass producer and DJ. I grew up in London, and at the age of 19 I moved to Manchester to study music at Salford University, where I began making music properly for the first time after finally acquiring a laptop to do this on. This wasn’t the beginning of my passion for Drum and Bass however, as I was hooked several years earlier when one of my brother’s friends started playing early High Contrast and Logistics tunes in the living room. I was captivated by the seamless and fast-paced flow created by the relationship of the drums, chords, vocals and other sampled elements that were glued together by the repetitively warming bass lines.

Reset Wrong
We are two brothers from St. Petersburg, Russia. Initially, we wrote techno, but we were tired of a straight kick.

Dilemma
I’m Midlands born, Brighton based and make dnb under Dilemma. I got into drum and bass through house music! I remember the exact tune that made me want to produce – Melodica by Stimming. Then I discovered Calibre and it all went downhill from there.

2. What was the first track you heard from Soulvent Records?

Mountain
Maybe NCT’s single ‘Scars’? I don’t remember how I found it though!

Monika
GLXY – Butterfly Effect. Class A dance music

Lurch
I think it was one off Pola & Bryson’s debut album (This Time Last Year). I really like their sound but I couldn’t tell you which one, I was just browsing through them at the time.

Primitive Instinct
The first release from Soulvent that led me to discover the label was GLXY’s ‘Butterfly Effect EP’. I actually happened to win the test press in a giveaway competition. After looking through the label’s back-catalogue I found many releases that were to my taste.

Strife ii
NCT – Scars. Around the time Scars was released and in the lead up there were a few of us getting uploads on Liquicity every now and then, including Andreas Ort (Dualistic) who I was lucky enough to write some tunes with – which was the first real exposure I got in drum and bass. I was listening to the channel pretty much 24/7 around then and used to cane Scars all the time, it’s super summery and chilled out and pretty infectious too.

Dushi
Data 3 – Funk Bear has a great bassline and I love the Indian vocal that floats into the middle of it.

Luna
Pola – Sound Killa. I had seen a link to it on soundcloud, and decided to check it out. I loved the vibe of the track, especially since it reminded me of my early days of discovering Drum & Bass. The drums have that splashy High Contrast-esque feel in the groove, and a deep bassline which reminded me of Logistics a little.

Reset Wrong
Pola & Bryson – Devil (Benny L Remix). Your label subscribed to us and it was the first track we heard.

Dilemma
I started hearing a lot of Pola & Bryson and GLXY on Random Movement’s podcast (which I am a religious follower of!) and discovered Soulvent from digging a little deeper into P&B’s discog. I believe This Time Last Year was the first release I heard on the label, loved it!

3. What is you favourite ‘summer anthem’ this year?

Mountain
The Invaderz – Drift Away

Monika
Low:r – Pushing Back The Tide. Got released in January, but it’s got such great feel good vibes! That track needs to be played outdoors.

Lurch
I recently found the original song that’s the basis for ‘Nothin But A G Thing’ by Dr Dre, it’s called ‘I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You’ by Leon Haywood. It’s sauce on toast!

Primitive Instinct
Klax & Charli Brix – Become

Strife ii
Warm Digits – Growth Of Raindrops feat. Sarah Cracknall. This is a weird track which came out last year that I absolutely adore, it’s full of noisy drum chopping and over the top arpeggios but it somehow manages to sound like M83 on a load of stimulants.

Soul Dimension
I don’t have a favoruite summer anthem this year, not yet at least!

Our good friend Maxwell ‘Monika’ Sweeney hosts the second episode of the Soulvent Records podcast, a monthly offering aiming to celebrate everything we love about our label, the drum & bass scene, and the wider world of music in general! This month’s guest selector is American duo Blacklab.

Each month, Monika will ask a guest to provide him with a selection of their favourite drum & bass tracks, alongside a small set of inspiring selections from outside of the genre. The aim of this is to show how far and wide drum & bass gathers it’s influences, and how versatile the genre can be. From hip hop to techno, trance to trap: dnb by it’s very nature stands as a perfect environment to channel anything and everything into the 170bpm dance floor culture. Let Soulvent be your guide into the far reaches of drum & bass.

There’s certainly no two ways about it, everyone in the UK loves the summer (even if a few of us do complain about being too hot!). So here at Soulvent, we thought we’d ring in everyone’s favourite season, with a scorching selection of tracks that will keep the mercury high. We’ve roped in new British talent from the likes of Luna, Changer, Primitive Instinct and Lurch – whilst keeping our international connections simmering, with offerings from Mountain, Reset Wrong, Soul Dimension and Monika.

Reset Wrong’s track Femme is a morphing selection of grunting synths and bi-polar drums – a first outing for the Russian duo on Soulvent. Meanwhile long-time friend, first-time collaborator Dushi offers up Crossroads, a number perfect for poolside jams & park life living.

Fresh from dropping his Teleportation EP on Celsius, Mountain returns with the feel-good half-time stepper that is Squall – littered with chords that will definitely have you reaching for the air guitar. Strife II delivers You’ll Always Know – energetic drums bathed in sunshine will have your hands in the air and a smile on your face. Dilemma brings a jazzy vibe that winds down the tone after a long day in the sun. Soulful keys and rolling basslines keep the good times coming.

As the sun goes down, break out the EP’s darker side with Cumber from Luna and The Shakes from Lurch. Big servings of sub bass will have you rounding out the after parties in style. Soul Dimension changes up the pace with the certified chest-thumper Mind Surgeon. If this one gets dropped at a night near you, expect shoes galore.

Last but by no means least, Soulvent staple Monika flies in from New Zealand with a vocal kissed roller titled As You Walk, perfect for a balmy stroll home after a long night of dancing!

This July, if you’re in search of a new Summer anthem, then look no further than our Summer Soul EP.

Our good friend Maxwell ‘Monika’ Sweeney hosts the first episode of the Soulvent Records podcast, a monthly offering aiming to celebrate everything we love about our label, the drum & bass scene, and the wider world of music in general!

Each month, Monika will ask a guest to provide him with a selection of their favourite drum & bass tracks, alongside a small set of inspiring selections from outside of the genre. The aim of this is to show how far and wide drum & bass gathers it’s influences, and how versatile the genre can be. From hip hop to techno, trance to trap: dnb by it’s very nature stands as a perfect environment to channel anything and everything into the 170bpm dance floor culture. Let Soulvent be your guide into the far reaches of drum & bass.

Here it is! The first instalment of the Soulvent Records podcast, 40 mins of luscious dnb brought to you by our esteemed friend, Maxwell Monika. #soulventpodcast

Following a busy 2017; featuring on the final Soul Sessions (Vol.3) and releasing on the likes of Influenza & Celsius recordings, Sam ‘Imba’ Hiscox is back at Soulvent with another solid two-track offering of liquid gold. The Bristolian has been steadily pioneering his own brand of notable rollers, fast becoming one of the staple aliases in the next generation of Liquid Drum and Bass producers.

Undone is full of spacey synths, twisted vocals and airy pads. Backed by a tight drum groove, the drop sees in a murky sub line flanked by revolving glitches of melody & sweeping dark reese basses.

On Absolution, Imba teams up with the Californian talents of Alexvnder – resulting in a sultry mix of styles. Wistful keys and thumping drums are the order of the day, alongside warming bass tones.

If you’re a fan of soulful rollers and surging baselines, look no further than this first-class feat dropping on the 29th of June.

Shogun Audio, Soulvent Records and Weird Science come together to present a night with revelatory D&B duo Pola & Bryson on Saturday 7th July, joined by a very special lineup of their closest peers within the scene.